Football cleat



Dec. 3, 1968 c. w. KNEEBUSCH FOOTBALL CLEAT Filed Sept. 11, 1967 I3 z 19I INVENTOR. CARL W. KNEEBUSCH ATTORNEYS nited States Patent OfficePatented Dec. 3, 1968 Ohio Filed Sept. 11, 1967, Ser. No. 666,691Claims. (CI. 36-67) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cleat for a footballshoe or the like comprises a base portion for attachment to the sole ofthe shoe and a generally frusto-conical portion unitary with the baseportion and converging downwardly therefrom. The surface of thegenerally frusto-conical portion is roughened to provide additionaltraction when embedded in the soil by providing a plurality ofserrations encircling the periphery of the generally frustoconicalportion and generally at right angles to a plane through the axis of thefrustoconical portion. A preferred form of these serrations consists ofreversed frusto-conical sub-portions converging upwardly and joined toadjacent sub-portions by short an nular shoulder portions in planesgenerally at right angles to the axis of the cleat.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved footballcleat by providing improved traction and gripping surfaces which greatlyincrease the holding power of the cleat when embedded in soil but which,at the same time, is so engineered that it gives the proper attitudetoward the ground during runs, turns and cuts and does not diminish thespeed of the user.

Other advantages of this improved football cleat will be set forth inthe appended drawings and specification and the essential featuresthereof are set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of my improvedcleat;

FIG. 1A is an enlarged fragmental view of a portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of FIG. 1; while FIG. 3 is a central sectionalview through a cleat similar to FIG. 1 but showing an improvement in themanner of attaching the same to a shoe.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cleat comprises a baseportion 11 for attachment to the shoe. It is here shown as hexagonal inform, although it will be understood that other forms are suitable. Agenerally frusto-conical portion 12 is unitary with the base portion 11and extends downwardly from the base portion axially concentrictherewith and converging downwardly as indicated in FIG. 1.

To increase the holding power of the cleat, it is provided with aplurality of serrations encircling the peripheral surface of thegenerally frusto-conical portion 12, these serrations arranged generallyat right angles to a plane through the axis of the cleat.

A preferred form of the serrations, as shown in FIG. 1, comprises aplurality of short, reversed frusto-conical sub-portions 13, each ofwhich has its larger base downwardly and converges upwardly; and theupper part of each sub-portion is joined to the adjacent lower part ofthe sub-portion immediately above it by a short, annular substantiallyhorizontal portion 14 which is generally in a radial plane with respectto the axis of the cleat. Preferably, each of the sub-portionsterminates in a rather sharp, annular lower skirt edge 15 so as to biteinto the soil, although in actual practice this skirt edge may be veryslightly rounded at a radius of of an inch. Likewise, at the annularzone 16 where a frusto-conical subportion meets the annular radialshoulder of the adjacent sub-portion above, a slightly rounded surfacemay be provided having a radius between .020 and .040 inch, .030 inchbeing preferred for easy release of soil from the cleat. The preferredangle of slope for the sub-portions is about 10 degrees from thevertical.

At the bottom of the cleat there is a generally fiat bottom surface 17which is connected with the first sub-portion 13 above it by a smoothlycurved surface which, as shown in FIG. 1, is preferably an ogee curve17a in section.

As shown in FIG. 1, the frusto-conical envelope which just touches thesharp skirt edges 15 is inclined inwardly and downwardly from thevertical at an angle A which should be between about 15 degrees andabout 20 degrees and in a preferred form is almost exactly 17 degrees. Apreferred form of this cleat measures about A of an inch across theflats of the hexagonal base portion 11 and measures about inch from topto bottom of the cleat as shown in FIG. 1.

The cleat may be attached to the shoe in any suitable manner, and I haveshown a centrally located recess 18 on that side of the base portionpresented toward the shoe sole to receive the head of a screw which isthreaded into a smaller bore 19 extending downwardly and axially of thecleat. Preferably also a counterbore 20 is provided as shown in FIG. 1and FIG. 2.

An improvement shown in FIG. 1 which may or may not be included in thecleat is the provision of roughening formations in the sharp annularskirt edge portions 15. In FIG. 1, this takes the form of notches 21spaced circumferentially around the skirt edges. These notches, orgrooves, are preferably about .020 inch wide and .030 inch deep. In apreferred form, there are a plurality of rows of these notches, fourbeing indicated in FIG. 1, and each row is located in a plane passingthrough the axis of the generally frusto-conical portion 12. Otherfrictionproducing formations could be provided in the skirt edges insubstitution for the notches 21.

It results from the construction just shown and described that theimproved cleat of this invention gives greater holding power whenembedded in the soil. Referring to FIG. 1A, as the cleat is pusheddownwardly into the soil, each skirt edge 15 creates a slight vacuum asit opens up an annular chamber in the soil generally indicated by thereference character 22 in FIG. 1A and bounded roughly by a dot-dashvertical line B running u wardly from each of the skirt edges 15.Actually, the boundary is a generally cylindrical form cut into the soilas indicated by the B in section in FIG. 1A. This action is particularlynoticeable in mud.

It results from the construction of this cleat that it presents greatlyincreased surface area so that it holds more firmly in the soil duringrunning, blocking and tackling and gives better traction both in drysoil, in muddy fields and on icy fields. At the same time, the formationof the surfaces of the cleat including the angle A of the convergingsides of the cleat as it is thrust into the soil and the ogee surface17a at the point of penetration into the soil gives improvedacceleration and speed to the player wearing these cleats.

An improvement shown in FIG. 3 is like the first embodiment except thata metal insert 23 is provided in place of the bore 19 mentioned inconnection with FIG. 1 which is provided with internally directedthreads to receive a screw for attachment of the cleat to a shoe.

Obviously the cleat of this invention may be made of difierent materialsas desired, but I have used certain synthetic resins such aspolyethylene, nylon or Lexan. Lexan is preferred as being athermoplastic polycarbonate resin possessing an unusual combination oftoughness, impact strength, heat resistance, and dimensional stability.This is the trade name of a resin produced by the General ElectricCompany.

The number of frusto-conical sub-portions need not be six, as shown,provided the teachings of this invention are followed.

What is claimed is:

1. A cleat for a football shoe or the like comprising a base portion anda generally frusto-conical portion unitary therewith and extending fromsaid base portion converging downwardly and axially concentric with saidbase portion, and a plurality of serrations encircling the-periphery ofsaid generally frusto-conical portion and generally at right angles tothe axis of the cleat to provide additional traction when said cleat isembedded in the soil, said serrations are short reversed frusto-conicalsub-portions converging upwardly and terminating in sharp annular lowerskirt edges.

2. A cleat as defined in claim 1 including means forming an opening insaid frusto-conical portion at right angles to said base portion toreceive a member for se- 4 curing said cleat to a shoe sole.

3. A cleat as defined in claim 1 including spaced deformations in saidskirt edges.

4. A cleat as defined in claim 3 wherein said deformations are notcheswhich lie in planes passing through the axis of said frusto-conicalportion.

5. A cleat as defined in claim 1 wherein said generally frusto-conicalportion slopes inwardly from said base portion at an angle between about15 degrees and about 20 degrees from the vertical.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 588,158 8/1897 Marsh 36-6732,185,365 1/1940 Birchfield 36-67.5 2,787,843 4/1957 Phillips 3667.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 7,045 1912 Great Britain. 28,114 1913 Great Britain.503,802 12/ 1954 Italy.

HERBERT F. ROSS, Primary Examiner.

